Teaching Maths to children can be quite an enormous task but if we break it down into simple components our task gets easier. Maths does not involve just teaching numbers, but it is a combination of various concepts through which a child learns how to analyze, observe and experiment with the world around him. There are four primary disciplines of Maths which must be taught in order to completely understand the concept of numbers:

Number Sense:
The first step in introducing numbers is to identify a number, know it’s meaning with respect to number of objects being counted and its relation to other numbers (bigger, smaller etc). You can check out the activities for Number Sense in our article here

Algebra:
It includes sorting, categorizing and understanding patterns. We will see some activities to learn these concepts in this article.

Geometry:
Geometry for preschoolers means understanding shapes, being able to relate these to the objects that they see around them.

Measurement:
Being able to make comparison between different objects through the concept of measurable attributes
Developing sorting and patterning skills is just one of the streams of Maths and it falls under Algebra. Here we look at a few activities that will help develop these skills:

1. Nuts and Bolts Sorting:
You can use the objects easily available at home to create a sorting activity. You child can sort the nuts and bolts according to their size. You can also place the sorted items in increasing or decreasing order of size.

2. Colour Sorting:
Bring in a lot of household articles of different colour and allow the child to categorize the objects into different piles according to colour. You can also boost some creative thinking in your child by asking the child to create any category they want. They could categorize a pile of random objects based on colour, shape or use.

3. Fruit Loops:
Fruit Loops can be used for a variety of activities. You can string a necklace with different patterns like 2 blue 2 red 2 blue and so on. Or sort them to make different necklaces based on colour. String in 5 blue and 5 red to show your child how two things add up.

4. Counting and Graphing:
Yes your toddler can also understand graphs! Here is an activity that will help them visualize and create their own graph. Divide a chart paper into several horizontals bars, each representing a different colour. Let you child sort his/her toys according to colour and place them in the correct section. At the end of the process they will be able to see which colour toys they have the most and the relative proportion amongst all.

5. Sorting Beans:
Mix together all beans and pulses and let your child sort them into separate bowls. Kids can use tweezers to transfer the beans which will help with fine motor development as well.